Divided Loyalties
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: Hearing the 'mayday' from Severide in the burning building forces Casey race to save his friend. Will he make it in time? Or will they both end up causalities? And will the real reason Severide was left to fend for himself come to light? Based parts from eppy 3.21 'We Called her Jellybean', Contains some spoilers.
**Title: Divided Loyalties?**

 **Summary:** Hearing the 'mayday' from Severide in the burning building forces Casey race to save his friend. Will he make it in time? Or will they both end up causalities? And will the real reason Severide was left to fend for himself come to light? Based parts from eppy 3.21 'We Called her Jellybean', Contains some spoilers.

 **Disclaimer:** Chicago Fire and its characters are the property of Dick Wolfe, NBC and as always I only own my muse.

 **A/N:** So rewatching a few older eppies and Alice wanted to rework the 10 second broment with this little OS and hope you all like it! Enjoy!

 _Note: Words in "double quotes and italics taken from the eppy" other italics are thoughts or past convo's_

* * *

 _"Mayday! Mayday! Chief I'm stuck! Fell through the floor…third floor…got a woman here…hurry!"_

 _"Casey! Otis!"_

 _"On it Chief!"_

 _Fell through the floor? Why is he alone?_ Casey's mind races to find answers as he urges his feet to move his legs faster up the slightly warping steps; further upward into the fiery inferno. Just as he reaches the top floor a few little burning embers start to rain down upon him and he knows time is running out.

Casey calls out orders to the other nearby team members to come and help; if it was only Severide, him and Otis could handle it but, with another person trapped…on fire and unmoving, he knows the situation is dire. _Why is he alone?_ He races to recall why Severide was alone and then remembers hearing Rice telling him something and then… _ah damn it Kelly why didn't he…_ his inner thoughts trail off as he knows he can only scold his best friend so much before reason reminds him that if in the same situation and Herrmann or Otis pulled away due to a technical malfunction, he'd have remained behind alone to rescue anyone left behind.

"Kelly!"

"Matt! In here!"

Casey hears Severide's voice on the other side of the door, drops his shoulder and busts through the door. He instantly stops short as he nearly becomes another casualty by putting himself into the same hole through.

"Hold on!" Casey mentions just as he bends down. "Otis!"

"Grab her…she's burning…get her OUT!" Severide shouts as Casey drops to his knees and grabs ahold of his friend by his jacket; Severide's arms outstretched in order to brace himself atop the gaping hole. "Don't…let go."

"Stop…mov…ing!"

"The floor's giving way!"

"Hurry Otis!" Casey shouts as Mouch and Cruz arrive to help Otis pull the blanketed woman to safety. It seems like a very small eternity as the woman's limp frame is dragged past Casey and Severide. "Hold…on."

"Feels like….I'M SLIPPING!" Severide shouts as the flooring around his planked arms starts to give way; Mouch carrying the injured woman to safety and Cruz behind to help Otis and Casey.

Casey's entire frame lurches forward, his hands leaving the sleeves of Severide's thick jacket and wrapping around his underarms in a crude hug. "Otis! Grab my…"

"Matt!" Severide shouts.

But just as Otis turns back to try to grab Casey's boots in order to keep them both from tumbling into the widening hole – he can only stare in shock as both Casey and Severide are swallowed up; tumbling into the smoky darkness below.

In reality the distance between the second and third floors isn't that great, however, with fiery debris raining down all around them; their landing is a bit more perilous. Severide's body falls a bit further; his lips offering an angry grunt as his frame slams into the warped flooring. Casey's gear laden body slams first into the table, bounces and then rolls off the edge and lands on the floor on the other side; his lips uttering a groan as he meets the floor with a hard thud.

"Casey! Severide! Report!" Boden's voice booms into their radio's. For a few seconds the PAS's start to wail, signaling to all outsiders that two of their own are in dire need of rescue.

"Oh…damn…" Casey's lips offer a soft grunt as he rolls onto his side; the little personal indicator stopping it's wailing. "Ke…lly…" he coughs into his mask and then slumps onto his back. But with time literally running out, he rolls back onto his side and instantly starts a visual search of his silent friend. "Kelly!" He tries once more as he slowly pushes himself to his knees and crawls around the table.

 _Rice…Rice left Severide…why_? Casey's mind ponders as he hears voices in the distance calling out to them. "Kelly…" he coughs as he crawls toward his friend. "Ke-lly!" He tries once more, his eyes burning from the smoke seeping under his cracked mask.

Severide's eyes slowly flutter open, his mind racing with panicked thoughts as he sees himself falling through the rotten flooring, grasping onto nothing and then slamming into the fiery surface below. A painful gasp escapes his lips as he focuses on..."Matt…" he grumbles. But he blinks a few times, thinking he's imagining the form reaching out to him and then disappearing. "Matt? Matt! NO!"

Casey's frame disappears through the last floor and into the basement, slamming onto his stomach and forcing the wind to be knocked from him.

Severide rolls onto his knees; Boden's frantic voice still trying to connect. "Chief…" Severide croaks. "Casey…fell through…need help…South…side…"

Boden relays the message to Otis and Cruz who are trying to carefully make their way down to the main floor; Boden remiss to send anyone else in and risk further potential injuries.

Severide's watery gaze looks around for something…anything he can use to find Casey, knowing that Casey came back for him when… _Rice! Damn you Scott!_ His jaw grits as he recalls something about Rice running out of oxygen and… _think on that later…right now get Casey!_

Just as Otis and Cruz reach the main floor, they can only watch in horror as Severide seems to just fall…or did he jump into the gaping hole?

Not really knowing what was below, Severide hastily rigs up something to get himself down into the basement and then takes a leap of faith. He lands and then rolls, his body crunching into Casey's and coming to a stop in the darkness against a supportive beam. "Matt!" Severide calls out as he fixes his helmet light and then frantically looks around.

"Severide!"

"Chief…I found Casey!" Severide replies as he quickly crawls over to his fallen friend. "Matt…come on buddy…talk to me…say…something," he mutters into his mask as he scrambles to get his glove off and feel for Matt's carotid pulse. "Alive…he's alive…thank God…Chief!"

"Cruz and Otis are coming to you!"

"Hurry!" Severide huffs as he tries to get Casey back toward the opening. "Come on man…too many Twinkies," he snickers under his breath, hoping that Matt will wake up and tell him off for his lame joke. "Ah this is…" he groans as he feels a twinge in his side.

"Severide!"

"Yeah…here," he calls back as his lungs gasp for some fresh air. "I might be…running out of air…time's almost up!"

"Matt…come on man…you gotta…wake up," Severide mutters as he drags Casey to where he thinks he sees a small beam of light coming from their would-be rescuers. "Anyone there!" He calls out as he rests back on his knees and boots, his eyes squinting into the darkened landscape their trapped in. "Hate windowless basements! How the hell is this even legal!" He mutters as he finally sees a larger section of light appear.

"Severide! Can you come to us!"

"Yeah…sure…I'll do all the work," Severide mutters in sarcasm as he slowly drags Casey's limp frame toward the waiting hole. "Just…a bit…longer…"

He finally reaches the hole and realizes that Cruz and Otis are still working to make it big enough for a human to pass through without further injury since a small gas pocket explosion had forced the opening to warp and buckle, impeding their progress.

"Casey…hold on buddy just…oh damn he's out of air!"

"Almost…through!"

"Casey…" Severide huffs as he drops Casey's frame to the dark, sooty floor and starts to pump on his chest; Cruz and Otis frantically working behind him to clear the path. "Casey!" He shouts as he removes his mask and tries to blow into Casey's mouth a few breaths.

"We're through!"

With time now completely spent, Severide's mind races with continuing CPR to Casey until he's got him breathing again or linger a bit longer and have possibly more than one casualty to deal with. "Damn it!" He curses as he knows he has to give up. So with that he tosses his own mask, his lungs instantly rebelling at the taste of acrid smoke and wanting to dispel it right away.

"I'm out…of air…" Severide offers raggedly.

He coughs as he drags Casey closer toward the opening, finally shouting up some instructions for Cruz and Otis who succeed in getting Casey free of the hole. With his own frame starting to falter, Severide's knees buckle, threatening to take him back into the smoky darkness.

But just before despair can overtake him, two sets of strong hands reach into the hole and pull Severide to safety.

"Come on…" Capp tells Severide as he and Hermann help walk the smoke-weary squad leader to safety.

Once outside, Severide tells them he's okay and heads to see Casey on the stretcher. On the way there he glances over at Rice who…for the first time in a long time is almost ashamed to meet his gaze. _What the hell?_ But his mind is too focused on Casey's condition; pushing Rice to the back – for now.

"Casey!"

"He's…we have a pulse but it's faint," Brett relays as she and Chili quickly prepare Casey for transport. "What about you?"

"Yeah…fine," Severide brushes off as he hops in the back of the ambulance. As Brett hooks up an IV to Casey's arm, Severide glances outside once more to see Rice standing a few meters behind Boden…looking oddly _guilty?_ "What the hell…" he mutters as Brett looks up in wonder.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," Severide shakes his head, knowing it his business to deal with. "Will he be okay?" Severide deflects the attention back to Casey.

XXXXXXXX

Once they reach the ER, Severide's head is pounding from the smoke inhalation and his side is throbbing. But all he wants to do is corner Rice and ask him why he left him. The _real_ reason why he left him to fend for himself and then force Casey to risk his life to … _damn you Rice!_

He can only watch helplessly as Casey is quickly wheeled into the ER examination room, his mind racing that Casey was struck on the head, further adding damage to an old but dangerous injury. His side begs him to get some rest but instead he pulls his phone and calls Rice.

"What the hell happened!" Severide impatiently demands, his tone demanding immediate attention.

"Ran out of air…"

"Out of air…okay…" Severide replies as he watches the rest of the truck team file in, Cruz first. "Gotta go."

"What happened Lieutenant?" Cruz questions Severide.

"Out of air…happens," Severide huffs as he pulls away and heads for a lone bench, Cruz and Otis trading wondering glance, Severide narrowing his gaze.

"Out…of air?" Cruz questions.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Checked the tank and…it was fine."

"You checked…who the hell…" Severide starts and then stops as Boden and the rest of the teams enter. "We'll deal with this later!" Severide snaps as he pushes himself up and storms into the area behind the curtains, Boden telling the rest of the truck team to stand down and let him go walk it off. Severide hangs back and watches as Casey's unconscious frame is treated by the team of medics; his brain angry at Casey for risking himself but angrier at Rice for putting Casey into that situation in the first place.

"Doc?" Severide asks as he watches the nurses finally slowdown in their once frantic duties.

"Mr. Casey will be fine. He had the wind knocked out of him and…"

"His head's okay? He had a pretty serious injury about a year ago and…I just worry."

"And we're sending him for a scan just to make sure he didn't suffer any head trauma. Most of the bruising was on the back and chest but the scans will tell us for sure. He'll be here a few more hours. You can tell his family if you'd like."

"I'm his family," Severide mutters as he nods and then takes his leave. He exits to see Cruz and Otis talking in a hushed tone and then stop when he approaches. "What's going on now?" He asks with a slightly narrowed gaze.

"How's Casey?" Hermann interjects in haste; having heard some of the discussion between Severide and Cruz and then Cruz and Otis with regards to Rice and not wanting to cause a big scene in a very public place.

"Wind knocked out of him. He'll be fine," Severide answers with a heavy sigh as Hermann nods and then steers Cruz away from the beleaguered squad leader. "Chief I'm gonna wait until Casey is awake."

"Copy," Boden acknowledges as he approaches. "Everything okay?" He asks Severide directly.

"Yeah…we're good. Just sore and…and worried about Casey. Everyone's excited…but it's over now," Severide replies, looking at Hermann and then Cruz and then Boden.

"When Casey wakes up if he's good to go, go home, both of you and get some rest."

"Thanks Chief."

Severide wanders back to the waiting room bench and slumps down in agitation, his mind begging him to just let go of the conversation with Cruz and focus on Casey… _but Rice said he ran out of oxygen…why would he lie?_ He couldn't…Cruz is… _why would he lie?_

"Damn it!" He curses just as nurse approaches. "Sorry," he offers with a small groan as she looks at him in question. "I'm fine…is Matt Casey out of the CAT scan yet?"

"I think they're just finishing with him now. He's still out but you can go in if you'd like. When he wakes up and if he wants to go he can. There were no internal injuries. It was close but he'll be fine."

"Thanks."

Severide pushes himself up from the bench and heads back behind the curtain. He nears Casey's bed and looks at his sleeping friend and feels his anxiety soar. _He came back for me…Rice left and Casey…Casey's always had my back._

"Tell me why you left," Severide once again demands over the phone.

"Kelly?"

"Yeah Rice it's me! Tell me why you left and why Casey had to come and risk his life and now is in the ER!" Severide shouts, a few curious onlookers wondering what's going on. "Just…tell me," Severide implores.

"My oxygen was out. Look I…is Casey okay?"

"He…I yeah I think so. But he wouldn't be in this situation if you had only…"

"I couldn't!" Rice argues back. "I…I was out of….look I left and you're okay and…I hope Matt will be okay."

And before Severide can say another word the line goes dead.

"Damn it!" Severide curses as he glares angrily at his phone; wondering if he shouldn't just go over there and… _and what?_ His brain argues back. _He said he was out of air…do you believe him or not? Was Cruz telling the truth? Or…_ And that was the question. If he didn't and he called Rice a liar then…then what? Dissention on Squad? They didn't need any more in House bickering and Boden was already on him and Casey to calm the growing tension between Truck and Squad.

Severide shoves his phone back into his pocket and heads back to Casey's room. He slumps down into a chair beside Casey's bed and drops his weary head to his hands and cradles it for a few seconds before he straightens up and then sags a bit further into his chair.

An hour passes before his phone buzzes to life; gently jolting him out of his light stupor.

 _'How's Casey. –Boden.'_

Severide reads the text before rubbing his face once more and then replying, _'Going to be fine. No internal injuries. Should be able to take him home tonight. See you tomorrow. –Kelly'_

He looks at the text he just sent Boden and frowns… _I'll be in tomorrow and then…I'll check the tank and…damn it Rice did nothing wrong!_

 _But in that moment, back at Firehouse 51, Cruz, Scott Rice tells Boden he's taking his tank to be repaired._

Severide gets up and starts to pace the room, his mind agitated and trying to tell himself that Rice is innocent and it was stupid that he was even arguing with himself. And yet he was.

A few moments later, he hears a soft cough and turns back to see Casey starting to stir. He turns and heads back to his bed; Casey pulling himself from his medicated stupor. "Hey…how's the head?"

"Thankfully…I didn't hit it," Casey groans as Severide helps him sit up. "Very hard," he deadpans. "Did I?"

"Funny," Severide purses his lips. "No…you hit everything else but."

"How are you?" Casey inquires.

"Few bumps and bruises…" he shrugs in reply.

"So…what happened?" Casey gently inquires as Severide helps him slowly sit up right.

"Fell through the floor," Severide replies almost stonily as Casey looks up with a heavy frown. "The floor was rotten and gave way…and then my weight pulled you through or…I'm tired," Severide concludes with a face rub.

"Your weight huh," Casey tosses somewhat flippantly as Severide shakes his head and helps Casey stand, holding onto his arm for a few minutes while he steadies himself. "Kelly…what happened to Rice?"

"Out of oxygen."

"Out of oxygen?" Casey questions plainly as Severide's jaw grits.

"You don't believe him?" Severide counters sharply before he mentally berates himself for getting so easily agitated. "Look I just…it's been a long day and I know some in the House have been ragging on Rice since he started…"

"Some on truck right?" Casey interjects softly as Severide nods. "I've heard a few things but…I know you'd take that seriously."

"Exactly," Severide nods in agreement as he looks at Casey in expectation.

"Yeah…I'm good. Just got the wind knocked out of me…some fat guy fell through the floor first," Casey retorts with a small snicker. But when his snicker turns into a somewhat chest rattling cough, all jokes instantly subside.

"Hey buddy…you sure you want to go home this soon?"

"Nothing's broken…just my pride," he groans as he reaches for his jacket. "Coulda been worse right? We both coulda fallen through that floor."

"We…both did," Severide starts and then stops, looking at Casey in wonder. "I know I just…"

"He left you there."

"He didn't leave me!" Severide hisses, drawing a few curious glances and then shaking his head. "Come on…let's go. Today has been…."

"Hell," Casey interjects with a whisper as he slowly trudges after Severide, outside into the cool night air. His body instantly starts to shiver as he feels the instant effects of his body being depleted of adrenaline. The ride to their shared apartment is spent in contemplative silence; Severide's mind trying to push aside the growing doubts that Scott Rice left him there…left him in danger because of what… _what could be the reason?_

"Thanks," Casey tells Severide as they enter their quiet apartment. Casey's body wants nothing more than to just shut down so he mechanically heads for his bedroom. But just before he enters he pauses and looks at Severide with a somewhat strained expression. "I'm glad we're not divided on this."

"We're not?"

"Rice told the truth right?" Casey counters as Severide shrugs and then nods. "Then…there's no division."

Severide stands like a solitary statue in the middle of the quiet hallway, watching as Casey disappears into his bedroom and then feeling his mind once again starting to wage an inner battle about dividing loyalties. _I'll settle this tomorrow…I'll prove Rice wasn't lying…I'll prove it…tomorrow…_

And Severide would find out the truth and in the end…loyalties would be divided. But not his and Casey's; their loyalty would remain intact. Always.

 **THE END!**

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah that situation was so tense and I wanted to add a bit more to it (I resolved the whole Casey/Severide/Rice lying and Rice sent packing in another story) so I hope you all liked this little angsty companion piece and please do review before you go and thanks so much!


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